Ice skate edge guard

ABSTRACT

A removable guard for protecting the edge of an ice skate runner during periods of nonskating is adapted to be mounted on the skate by means of friction, magnetism or a combination of these forces. The guard has a narrow longitudinal slot for receiving the runner with a bottom wall which extends along substantially the entire length of the runner-edge and closely spaced upstanding sidewalls which may be biased toward one another to frictionally engage the sides of the runner for mounting the guard or which may carry magnetic elements to magnetically engage the sides of the skate-runner. In one embodiment, the bottom and sidewalls carry a U-shaped spring member embedded therein to effect the required biasing action for mounting the guard; in another embodiment the sidewalls incorporate magnetic elements for mounting the guard; and in a further embodiment the guard is a resilient slit tubular element which may be bowed upwardly a slight amount to cause the sidewalls of the guard to frictionally engage the sides of the runner when the bottom wall is deflected into mating engagement with the edge of the runner.

United States Patent Weidenhacker [54] ICE SKATE EDGE GUARD Russell A. Weidenbaclker, 32 South Wyoming Ave., Box 153, Haverford, Pa. 19041 [22] Filed: Aug.4,1970

[21] Appl. No.1 60,863

[72] Inventor:

[52] U.S.Cl Jim/111.38 [51] Int. Cl ..A63c 3/12 [58] FieldofSearch ..280/l1.38,1l.37E

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,925,697 9/1933 Johnson ..280/11.38

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 13,751 1895 Great Britain ..280/1 1.38

1451 Jan. 25, 1972 Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Milton L. Smith AttorneyHowson and Howson [57] ABSTRACT A removable guard for protecting the edge of an ice skate runner during periods of nonskating is adapted to be mounted on the skate by means of friction, magnetism or a combination of these forces. The guard has a narrow longitudinal slot for receiving the runner with a bottom wall which extends along substantially the entire length of the runneredge and closely spaced upstanding sidewalls which may be biased toward one another to frictionally engage the sides of the runner for mounting the guard or which may carry magnetic elements to magnetically engage the sides of the skate-runner. In one embodiment, the bottom and sidewalls carry a Ushaped spring member embedded therein to effect the required biasing action for mounting the guard; in another embodiment the sidewalls incorporate magnetic elements for mounting the guard; and in a further embodiment the guard is a resilient slit tubular element which may be bowed upwardly a slight amount to cause the sidewalls of the guard to frictionally engage the sides of the runner when the bottom wall is deflected into mating engagement with the edge of the runner.

3 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JANZSISYZ 3,637,231

sum 1 (1F 2 mvsm'ronz BY RUSSELL A. WEIDENBACKER ATTYS.

PATENTED M25 i972 3.637.231 SHEEY 26? 2 FIG. 5.

FIG.6. m

FIG. 7g.

INVENTOR RUSSELL A. WE IDENBACKER BY MW ATTY S.

llClE SKATE EDGE GUARD The present invention relates to edge guards for use with ice skates to protect the edges of the skates from being damaged in transit or during the periods of perambulation by skaters on their skates.

At present, removable guards are available for protecting the edges of ice skates when the skates are being transported or during limited periods of walking thereon. The conventional guard is of wooden, plastic, or rubber construction and has front and back ends, either or both of which may be turned upwardly, and an upwardly open slot extends lengthwise between the ends. Attaching devices in the form of springs or books are provided to engage over the runner and through apertures between the stanchions to removably secure the guard to the skate.

Most existing edge guards are bulky and cumbersome. Hence, they may tend to interfere with a skaters walking on his skates, for instance in situations where a skater mounts his skates in a location remote from the skating area and walks to the skating area on his guard-protected skates. Furthermore, edge guards having the aforementioned conventional attaching means may not be employed with skates possessing safety covers such as disclosed in my copending application, Ser No. 82l,883, filed on May 5, I969, (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,778). In skates of this construction, there are no open apertures between the stanchions and the bottom of the shoe of the skate, thereby preventing conventional attachment devices from being employed. Accordingly, there is presently an absence of suitable guards which are capable of being used with ice skates having my aforementioned patented construction.

Also, ice skates embodying an elastomerie-bonded construetion are disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 2l,023, filed Mar. 19, 1970 and now U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,149. These skates are provided with webs of elastomeric material spanning across apertures in their side members; hence, they may not readily employ conventional edge guards. It is to be noted, however, that elastomeric-bonded skates having apertures in their side members may satisfactorily employ conventional edge guards.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide novel ice skate edge guards which are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which have built-in attaching means and an absence of external fasteners.

It is another object of the present invention to provide improved ice skate edge guards which possess less bulk and hence are less cumbersome than edge guards known heretofore.

As a further object, the present invention provides unique ice skate edge guards which are capable of being readily mounted on and dismounted from their associated ice skates by skaters.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide new ice skate edge guards which are lightweight and which possess a pleasing overall appearance.

As another object, the present invention provides ice skate edge guards which are particularly suited for use with ice skates having safety covers spanning across apertures between the stanchions of the skates.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wide variety of ice skate edge guards which permit the skater to choose a particular type guard for a particular purpose, for instance for perambulating on guarded skates or merely for protecting the skate edges while the skates are being transported.

The invention provides a guard of extended durability by the construction which obviates the need for separate fasteners and which reduces the possibility of the sharpened blade edges cutting through the guard.

More specifically, the present invention provides a removable guard for protecting the edge of an ice skate from being damaged during transportation of the skate or during limited periods of perambulation by a skater on his skates. The guard has a bottom wall portion spanning across the edge of the skate-runner and upstanding sidewall portions disposed in closely spaced relation to form a narrow upwardly open longitudinal slot for receiving the runner. The overall length of the guard is slightly less than the length of the runner, and the guard is mounted to the runner by means which is incorporated in the guard for flexing or biasing the sidewalls toward one another to cause them to engage: opposite sides of the runner by magnetic attraction, by friction, or by a combination of these forces. If the runner is hollow-ground, an upwardly convex support may be provided in the bottom of the slot for matingly engaging the downwardly concave edge of the hollow-ground runner. In such case the rib is preferably wooden to absorb and dissipate water droplets which accumulate on the edge of the runner during skating.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a side elevational view in reduced scale of an ice skate runner mounting one embodiment of an edge guard con structed according to the present invention, a portion of the guard being broken away to illustrate construction details;

FIG. 1a is a full-scale sectional view taken along line lala of FIG. 1;

FIG. lb is a full-scale sectional view similar to FIG. la showing a modified form of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a full-scale sectional view similar to FIGS. Ia and lb showing another modified form of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view in reduced scale of the lower portion of an ice skate runner mounting another embodiment of an edge guard constructed according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are full-scale sectional views taken along lines 3a3a and 3b-3b, respectively, of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are views similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 respectively but of a further modified embodiment of an edge guard constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 5a is a full-scale sectional view taken along line 5a5a of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5b is a full-scale view similar to FIG. 5a but illustrating the edge guard before insertion of the runner thereinto;

FIGS. 50 and 5d are full-scale sectional views of additional modified forms of the guard illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 5 but ofa still further modified embodiment of the present invention, the view illustrating in broken lines an approximate premounted configuration of the edge guard;

FIG. 7a is a full-scale sectional view taken along line 7a-7a of FIG. 7;

FIG. 7b is a view similar to FIG. 7a but ofa modified form of the embodiment of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 7c is a view similar to FIGS. 7a and 7b but ofa further modified form of the embodiment of FIG. 7.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. I a conventional, steel, figure-type ice skate runner I0 mounting a removable guard 11 for protecting the edge I2 of the runner 10 during periods of nonskating. As may be seen in FIG. Ia, theguard Ill is wooden and has a bottom wall 13 which spans across the edge 12 and extends along its entire length, and has sidewalls 14,14 upstanding from the bottom wall in closely spaced relation to form a narrow upwardly open slot coextensive in length with the guard 11 and slightly wider than the width of the runner. The length of the guard 11 is slightly less than the length of the runner 10, thereby exposing the teeth 15 on the front of the runner to enable a skater to walk thereon with the guard 11 in place if he should so desire. The edge 12 of the runner I0 is bowed into a predetermined radius in a vertical plane extending lengthwise through the runner, and the guard 11 is likewise bowed so that the inside of its bottom wall 13 matingly engages and supports the edge 12. As may be seen in FIG. 2, the sidewalls 14,14 of the guard are relatively thin in order to reduce the overall weight and bulk of the guard and thereby to enhance its overall appearance.

In accordance with the present invention, the guard 11 is removably fastened to the skate-runner without employing attaching devices such as hooks or springs. To this end, each sidewall 14 carries a magnetic element 16 on its inside wall. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the magnetic elements 16,16 extend along the entire length of the sidewalls 14,14 in side-by-side confronting relation, and the magnetic elements 16,16 are secured to the sidewalls 14,14 by suitable means, such as adhesive. Thus, when the skate-runner 10 is disposed in its receiving-slot in the guard 11, the magnetic elements 16,16 are attracted magnetically by the steel of the runner, thereby magnetically securing the guard to the runner.

If desired, a modified form of the aforedescribed edge guard embodiment may be provided. As may be seen in FIG. 1b, the modified edge guard 111 has an overall appearance which is substantially the same as the guard 11, but with some notable differences. For instance, the guard 111 is preferably of molded elastomeric materials which are relatively inexpensive and which are resilient to provide a shock-absorbing action when a skater walks on his guarded skates. However, in order to prevent the edge 112 of the runner 110 from cutting the bottom wall 113, a support 117 is provided in the bottom of the slot. In the present instance, the support 117 is a round, elongated rod of wood or hard plastic material, and the support 117 secured in the bottom wall 113 by means of suitable adhesive so as to project its upwardly convex surface into the space between the sidewalls 114,114 for matingly engaging the hollow ground edge of the runner 110. Wood is preferred for the rib 117 since it possesses the ability to absorb and dissipate water droplets which tend to accumulate on the edge of the runner during skating. Thus, in this manner, the double edges which are inherent in hollow-ground skates are prevented from cutting through the bottom wall 113 when a skater walks on his guarded skates.

A further modified form of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 is illustrated in FIG. 1c. As illustrated therein, a guard 211 is provided having upstanding sidewalls 214,214 forming a slot for receiving a skate-runner 210. Unlike the embodiment of FIG. 1a, the guard 211 has magnetic elements 216,216 which are mounted to the inside of the walls 214,214 by means which permits them to be displaced theretoward or away therefrom upon insertion of the runner 210 into the slot. In the present instance, a strip of compressible resilient material 219 such as felt or soft rubber is cemented between each magnetic element 216 and its adjacent sidewall 214, thereby fastening the magnetic elements in the guard and spacing their inwardly confronting sides a distance from one another which is slightly less than the width of the runner 210. Thus, this structure eliminates any airgap which otherwise may exist between the inside of the sidewalls and the sides of the runner so as to ensure positive mounting of the guard onto the skate runner.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3-4 is substantially similar in construction and operation to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-2; however, some differences are to be noted. Unlike the aforedescribed guard 11, the guard 21 has magnetic elements 26 which are discontinuous along the length of its sidewalls 24,24. Thus, as may be seen in FIG. 4, the magnetic elements are disposed in side-by-side confronting relation in three pairs which are substantially equally spaced along the length of the guard 21 and which provide the guard with alternating thick and thin zones (See FIGS. 3a, 3b and 4). In this embodiment, the guard 21 is molded of elastomeric or other plastic material and the magnetic elements 26,26 are embedded in the sidewalls 24,24. Thus, a layer of material 24a, 24a is interposed between the magnetic elements 26,26 and the sides of the runner 24 to protect the runner 24 from being scratched or otherwise damaged during mounting and dismounting of the guard 21. It is to be noted that the material must be sufficiently flexible to enable the sidewalls 24,24 to deflect inwardly for magnetically engaging the sides of the runner.

If desired, a guard 31 (FIGS. 5-6) may be provided having sidewalls 34,34 which are biased toward one another by means ofa spring action. As may be seen in FIGS. 5a and 5b, the spring action is provided by a U-shaped spring member 38 which is embedded in the bottom wall 33 and sidewalls 34,34 of the guard 31. Preferably, the spring member 38 is metal and extends coextensively with the bottom and sidewalls, and the member 38 is coated with a layer of elastomeric or other covering material to prevent its damaging a skate-runner during mounting and dismounting. Also, a rib 37 of wood or other firm material is mounted in the bottom of the guard-slot for the purposes as described heretofore in connection with FIG. 1b embodiment. Normally, the spring member 38 operates to space the upper confronting margins on the insides of the sidewalls 34,34 a distance from one another which is less than the width of the runner 30; in the present instance the margins are illustrated in engagement with one another in FIG. 5b before insertion of the runner 30 as illustrated in FIG. 5 0. Thus, the spring member 38 causes the sidewalls 34,34 to engage opposite sides of the runner 30 for frictionally mounting the guard to the runner 30. If desired, the spring member 38 may be of bright metal such as plated chromium or the like, in which case the outermost layer of covering material is preferably transparent. Preferably, the guard forms illustrated in FIGS. 56 are fabricated from clear or colored plastic, elastomeric or polymeric materials such as Nylon sold by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours Company. The inner and outer layers of covering material need not be identical, and, if desired, the materials may be chosen to impart sufficient stiffness to the sidewalls so as to eliminate the necessity of employing a metal spring member to bias the sidewalls toward one another.

If desired, a modified form of the FIGS. 5-6 embodiment may be provided which is constructed like the form illustrated in FIGS. 5a and 5b. As illustrated in FIG. 50, the guard 130 has sidewalls 134,134 and a spring member 138, and the guard 130 has a flat exterior surface 133a on its bottom wall 133 to reduce the possibility of a skaters slipping while walking on his edge-guarded skates.

A further modified form of the FIGS. 5-6 embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 5d. As may be seen therein, the guard 230 has a thickened bottom wall 233 and upstanding sidewalls 234,234 which flare outwardly away from one another at 234b, 234b along their upper margins to provide a smoothly tapered entrance into the runner-slot. A spring member 238 is embedded in the bottom and sidewalls as in the aforementioned guard-forms. Thus, the flared sidewalls cooperate to enable the skate-runner to be readily inserted into the slot in the guard. Also, it is to be noted that a layer of tacky adhesive 236 may be provided on the inside of the bottom wall 233 and sidewalls 234,234 for the purpose of supplementing the fractional mounting forces created by the interaction of the spring-biased sidewalls 234,234 and the skate-runner. Tacki-' ness may also be provided by selecting fabrication materials which have a slight degree of inherent adhesive properties. Also, it is to be noted that a certain degree of resiliency is built into the guard 230 by virtue of its thickened bottom wall 233, thereby cushioning the shocks which would normally be transmitted to a skaters feet while walking on his edge-guarded skates.

In another embodiment, an edge guard 41 is provided having upstanding sidewalls 44,44 which are biased into engagement with opposite sides of a runner by virtue of the shape and the inherent elasticity of the materials of which the guard 41 is formed. To this end, the guard 41 may be bowed upwardly into a radius of curvature which is less than the radius of curvature of the runner-edge in the plane of the runner 40. Like the guards described heretofore, the guard 41 has a bottom wall 43 (FIG. 7a) and upstanding sidewalls 44,44. In this embodiment the sidewalls comprise segments of a tubular member which has a longitudinal split or slit 44a forming a longitudinal slot for receiving the runner of an ice skate when the upper margins of the sidewalls normally engaging one another along the slit 44a are spread apart. As may be seen in FIG. 7a, the guard 44 has a bottom surface 41a which is flattened to enable a skater to walk on his guarded skates with less tendency to slip. The guard 41 is mounted on the runner 40 by manually spreading the sidewalls 44,44 slightly and inserting the front portion of the runner 40 therebetween and thereafter pressing the inside bottom wall 43 against the runneredge. [n this manner, the curvature of the guard cooperates with the arcuate form of the sidewalls to elastically urge the latter into engagement with the sides of the runner and thereby frictionally mount the guard 41 to the runner 40. The frictional forces mounting the guard 41 onto the runner may be supplemented by magnetic attraction forces by molding the guard 41 of a material which carries magnetic particles dispersed therein. Such materials are resilient and possess rubberlike properties, and they are commercially available.

If desired, a guard 14] (FIG. 712) may be provided which is substantially the same as the guard 41 but which has a flattened upper surface 14112 in addition to a flat bottom surface 141a. Also, a guard 241 (FIG. 70) may be provided having a flattened exterior surface on its bottom wall and sidewalls having planar exterior surfaces 241e, 2410 projecting upwardly from the bottom wall in substantially parallel relation. Thus, the guard 24H is particularly adapted to mount decorative foil of various colors on the exterior 241e, 2410 of its sidewalls to enhance its overall appearance.

In view of the foregoing, it should be apparent that novel forms of simple and inexpensive edge guards have been provided which may be releasably mounted onto ice skates without requiring attaching devices such as hooks, springs or the like.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, various modifications, alterations, and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

lclaim:

1. For use with an ice skate having a steel runner of a predetermined length and an edge extending lengthwise on the bottom of the runner, a removable guard for protecting said edge against damage, said guard having a bottom wall portion extending across and lengthwise of said edge for a distance less than said predetermined length of the runner and having sidewall portions upstanding in closely spaced relation from said bottom portion to provide a runnerreceiving slot, and magnetic means in said guard biasing said sidewalls toward one another to engage said runner when saidrunner is placed in said slot, said magnetic means including a magnetic element mounted on each sidewall with the magnetic elements being disposed in confronting side-by-side relation to urge the sidewalls against the runner for anchoring the guard to the runner when the runner is placed in its receiving-slot in the guard, and including compressible means disposed intermediate each magnetic element and the inside of its associated sidewall, said compressible means spacing the confronting surfaces of said magnetic elements from one another a distance less than the width of the runner, so that upon insertion of the runner into its receiving slot, the compressible means permits the magnetic elements to be displaced away from one another, thereby to cause the magnetic elements to engage the sides of the runner without the presence of an airgap therebetween.

2. For use with an ice skate having a steel runner of a predetermined length and an edge lengthwise on the bottom of the runner, a removable guard for protecting said edge against damage, side guard having a bottom wall portion extending across and lengthwise of said edge for a distance less than said predetermined length of the runner and having sidewall portions upstanding in closely spaced relation from said bottom portion to provide a runner-receiving slot, and

means in said uard biasing said sidewalls toward one another to engage sat runner when said runner IS placed in said slot,

said biasing means including a magnetic element mounted on each sidewall with the magnetic elements being disposed in confronting side-by-side relation to urge the sidewalls against the runner for anchoring the guard to the runner when the runner is placed in its receiving-slot in the guard, and including a layer of material carried by each sidewall and covering the magnetic element carried thereon for spacing said element from the surface ofthe runner.

3. For use with an ice skate having a runner of a predetermined length and an edge extending lengthwise on the bottom of said runner, a removable guard for protecting said edge against damage, said guard having a bottom wall portion extending across and lengthwise of said edge for a distance less than said predetermined length of the runner and having sidewall portions upstanding in closely spaced relation from said bottom portion to provide a runner-receiving slot, and magnetic means in said guard biasing said sidewalls toward one another to engage said runner when said runner is placed in said slot, said guard being of molded construction and including magnetic particles embedded in said sidewall to provide said sidewall biasing means, whereby the guard is secured to the runner by friction applied between the sidewalls and the runner. 

1. For use with an ice skate having a steel runner of a predetermined length and an edge extending lengthwise on the bottom of the runner, a removable guard for protecting said edge against damage, said guard having a bottom wall portion extending across and lengthwise of said edge for a distance less than said predetermined length of the runner and having sidewall portions upstanding in closely spaced relation from said bottom portion to provide a runner-receiving slot, and magnetic means in said guard biasing said sidewalls toward one another to engage said runner when said runner is placed in said slot, said magnetic means including a magnetic element mounted on each sidewall with the magnetic elements being disposed in confronting side-by-side relation to urge the sidewalls against the runner for anchoring the guard to the runner when the runner is placed in its receiving-slot in the guard, and including compressible means disposed intermediate each magnetic element and the inside of its associated sidewall, said compressible means spacing the confronting surfaces of said magnetic elements from one another a distance less than the width of the runner, so that upon insertion of the runner into its receiving slot, the compressible means permits the magnetic elements to be displaced away from one another, thereby to cause the magnetic elements to engage the sides of the runner without the presence of an air gap therebetween.
 2. For use with an ice skate having a steel runner of a predetermined length and an edge lengthwise on the bottom of the runner, a removable guard for protecting said edge against damage, side guard having a bottom wall portion extending across and lengthwise of said edge for a distance less than said predetermined length of the runner and having sidewall portions upstanding in closely spaced relation from said bottom portion to provide a runner-receiving slot, and means in said guard biasing said sidewalls toward one another to engage said runner when said runner is placed in said slot, said biasing means including a magnetic element mounted on each sidewall with the magnetic elements being disposed in confronting side-by-side relation to urge the sidewalls against the runner for anchoring the guard to the runner when the runner is placed in its receiving-slot in the guard, and including a layer of material carried by each sidewall and covering the magnetic element carried thereon for spacing said element from the surface of the runner.
 3. For use with an ice skate having a runner of a predetermined length and an edge extending lengthwise on the bottom of said runner, a removable guard for protecting said edge against damage, said guard having a bottom wall portion extending across and lengthwise of said edge for a distance less than said predetermined length of the runner and having sidewall portions upstandinG in closely spaced relation from said bottom portion to provide a runner-receiving slot, and magnetic means in said guard biasing said sidewalls toward one another to engage said runner when said runner is placed in said slot, said guard being of molded construction and including magnetic particles embedded in said sidewall to provide said sidewall biasing means, whereby the guard is secured to the runner by friction applied between the sidewalls and the runner. 